Key Takeaways
- Good knowledge management is more important to businesses than ever before.
- A new knowledge management system can substantially improve performance across your entire operation.
- Smart planning and goal-setting is the most important factor in successful knowledge management implementation.
- Get your workforce excited to use the new system, so it doesn't become shelfware.
- KMS Lighthouse can make KMS deployment easy!
What Does It Mean to Implement a Knowledge Management System?
Today's businesses run on knowledge. Most operations have to manage a huge amount of knowledge, including SOPs, technical documents, internal processes, and more. Your workforce needs fast, accurate access to this knowledge if they're going to do their jobs effective.
If your knowledge is currently spread across numerous databases – or, worse, still stuck in paper binders and random emails – a new Knowledge Management System (KMS) could be an excellent investment. Modern KMS setups collect and centralize all business information in a single database, backed up by AI systems that allow easy natural-language searching of the database.
In short, knowledge management implementation means getting a better handle on your existing knowledge, tying that to clear business goals, then investing in KMS software which bridges the gap between them.
This article will discuss practical strategies for implementing a KMS, based on our own extensive experience helping global industries improve their knowledge management.
How to Implement a Knowledge Management System: Step by Step
1 – Create a plan that aligns the KMS with business goals
Knowledge management implementation is not merely a software upgrade. It should lead to a new business-wide strategy for gathering, centralizing, and utilizing knowledge. This should be clearly explained and outlined from the very beginning. Your initial proposal should focus on how the KMS will support your operation's larger business plans, with clearly-defined goals and KPI metrics which directly relate to those plans.
2 – Map and vet your existing knowledge
Where does your knowledge currently 'live'? What sources does your workforce utilize for business data? And, perhaps most importantly, how accurate is this information?
A KMS implementation succeeds or fails based on the quality of the knowledge put into it. Fully auditing, vetting, and correcting your existing knowledge base will be a time- and labor-intensive process. However, the better your data is at the start of KMS implementation, the more smoothly everything else will go.
This is especially true if you'll be using an AI-powered KMS. Remember: a Machine Learning AI is only as smart as the data it trains on. Bad data will make a bad AI.
3 – Put a team together
Implementing a new KMS will be a team effort. At a minimum you'll need:
- A C-level sponsor such as your CIO
- An overseer tasked with creating and enforcing data-management policies
- Cooperation from your IT department for matters such as system security
- Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) empowered to review and correct articles in the database
- One or more specialists focused on creating training materials
- Outreach specialists cheerleading for the project internally
- Auditors and analysts to oversee long-term usage of the KMS and implement improvements as needed
There should be clearly defined responsibilities and ownership. Knowledge Management cannot be ad-hoc.
4 – Select your platform
Once you have clearly defined goals, a good handle on your existing KB, and a team in place, it's time to look at your options in Knowledge Management platforms.
There are numerous options on the market, so take time and do your research. Also, ask for free demonstrations – all of the major KMS providers have demos you can see and/or try out. Focus on the product which most closely aligns with your existing goals and knowledge setup.
5 – Implement in phases
Do not attempt to roll out a new KMS for your entire operation at once. Start small with a pilot project in a single office or department, and use that to iron out any unexpected issues that come up during deployment. Once it's successfully deployed in one area, you can start rolling the KMS out to other departments, in order of business priority.
If you aren't sure where to start, try one of your contact centers or internal helpdesks. They'll immediately see the benefits of better knowledge management, and likely be in a good position to offer suggestions for improvements before the system goes live for everyone.
6 – Prepare the workforce with outreach and training
We cannot emphasize this enough: you must get your workforce excited about adopting the new KMS. There should be significant resources dedicated to internal outreach and training. Focus on the benefits the system will bring to the workforce and how much easier their jobs will be once knowledge is centralized.
No more searching through binders of information! No more hunting down that one employee who's been there forever and knows everything. The information you need is at your fingertips!
Sell it like you're selling a product, to drive internal usage.
7 – Measure, Analyze, Improve
A new Knowledge Management System isn't a fire-and-forget solution. With proper oversight and analysis of usage, it can continually improve over time. Stay on top of problem reports or issues with accuracy in the database. Focus on long-term improvement and steadily-improving metrics over time.
What Common Mistakes Should You Avoid When Implementing a KMS?
Unfortunately, many attempts to implement a KMS ultimately fail to bring proper returns. This typically results from a lack of planning, or poor communication during the implementation process.
The most common mistakes we've seen include:
1 – Treating KMS implementation as "only" a tech upgrade
Properly handled, knowledge management implementation isn't simply a software upgrade. It's a complete rethink of how your business views, handles, and manages data across the entire operation.
A KMS should be pitched – both to execs and workers – as a new business strategy, with appropriate emphasis in communications. This is where the true power of a KMS lies.
2 – No outreach strategy
A major upgrade like a KMS must be 'sold' to everyone who'll be using it – which is going to be the majority of your workforce. Along with all the technical and strategic planning, you also need an outreach strategy aimed at getting your workers excited about the possibilities of the new technology.
Focus on practical day-to-day results. A worker wants to hear "How will this make my job easier?" and that's what you should give them. This should also be the focus of any retraining projects relating to the KMS.
3 – Lacking defined goals
As mentioned above, one key aspect of KMS implementation is having clearly defined goals for the project, backed up by measurable metrics. This is a true must-have. Your goals should be aligned with your business needs. For example, if your operation has issues with call center handle times or first-call resolution, those should have clear goals attached.
4 – Poorly defined metrics
Never forget Goodhart's Law: "When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure."
Think carefully about what metrics you are shooting for, and what behaviors this will inspire in your workforce. For example, we've seen companies try to encourage engagement with their new KMS by measuring documents uploaded – but this merely encouraged workers to flood the KMS with junk documents that cluttered it up. Or simply measuring 'hits' to the KMS led to workers making random searches that don't relate to work.
Ideally, the metric targets should be based on secondary effects which the KMS contributes to, without being the sole focus. Again, an example would be First-Call Resolution. FCR will be improved through agents making proper use the KMS, but FCR can't be 'gamed' through system manipulation alone.
In Conclusion: Planning Is Key To KMS Success
If there's one core takeaway, it's this: the better your planning, the better your new knowledge management initiative will go. The vast bulk of your time will be spent in planning and preparation, and that process should not be rushed.
KMS Lighthouse makes this easier. Our expertise, combined with our industry-leading AI-powered knowledge management software, leads to easier deployment and rapid ROI. KMS Lighthouse is already trusted by banks, telecoms, insurance companies, government agencies, and more, all around the world.
Contact us to learn more, or schedule a free demonstration.
Frequently Asked Questions
Assume a few weeks at a minimum, possibly months. Actual software implementation can be accomplished in an afternoon, but you'll be spending most of your time on planning, training, internal outreach, and prepping the data for conversion into a KMS.
Most of the time, the biggest risk is simply internal resistance to change. Without good communication, outreach, and training, your KMS could go under-utilized, or even ignored.
However, security issues would be a close second. Be sure your system security is ready for the new challenges a KMS will bring.
In theory, no. Most modern KMS platforms are designed as software-as-a-service (SAAS) products intended to be as easy-to-implement as possible. That said, having an IT team to oversee security and migration will usually help the process go more smoothly.
Use the carrot, not the stick. Focus your communication on the benefits of your KMS, and all the reasons a worker should want to use it. Once the system is in place, you can also start nudging your workforce metrics to encourage adoption – such as reducing AHT goals, such that utilizing the KMS would be needed to hit them.
Don't try to directly order your workforce to use the KMS; this virtually guarantees their compliance will be half-hearted, or even malicious.
